Menard's Poor Service Omaha, Nebraska

ISSUE:  We wanted the door within a week and were told by Menard's that would not happen - they declined to call the manufacturer to see if we could get it sooner.  When I tried to get a refund in less than a week, I had to pay a re-stocking fee, even though we were told it would be three weeks until we got the door and Menard's receipt said the restocking fee was at their discretion! My wife and I had gone to Menard's looking for an "outside" door - one for our kitchen-to-patio.  We wanted a door with shades built in and energy efficient.

We first looked at the displays of doors, and then talked with the Menard's rep.  He showed us the door we wanted and once we thought it was what we wanted, then he proceeded to tell us that we had to "special order" the door.  That was our first frustration, but we proceeded any way and answered all his questions about the specifications for the door, etc.  Once done, we paid and went home.

At that point, we started to have second thoughts about the door:

• Was it as energy efficient as we needed, since it was a door directly to the outside?
• Was it insulated well enough, especially the glass to give us adequate protection from the winter cold?
• Would the door fit properly and not have any "air leaks" once installed?
• How good was the door we had just bought - after all, it was a Mastercraft, but the Menard's rep said it was a really good door and they had no other problems from other customers about the doors?

First -- Our first frustration came when we asked how soon we would get the door, and the rep told us it would take 3 to 4 weeks at least to get the door.  We had a project to finish soon and the door had to go up first and we were told that it would be at least three weeks to get the door.

Second -- When we first asked if Menard's installed the door, the rep said no but they had contractors lined up to do the work.  We thought then that they meant that Menard's arranged for the contractor, but later found out that we had to get our own contractor - Menard's did supply a list but didn't deal with them directly.

Third -- During the following week (we bought the door on Saturday), as we got time, we searched out more information about the door we bought.  To our surprise, we found several complaints about the door manufacturer, not counting the ones about the poor customer service from Menard's.

Fourth -- When we saw this information - I know we should have checked first -- we decided to cancel the order.  So, on the Friday after we had bought the door, I called to cancel.  At that time I was told I had to come into the store to cancel the order and I would have to pay a 25% re-stocking fee.  When I asked why -- since we would not be getting the door for at least 3 weeks -- I was told the door was already in, even though the rep on the past Saturday said a minimum of 3 weeks.  When I mentioned that the sales receipt said 25% re-stocking fee "at the discretion of the store", I was told it we would be charged and nothing would change that!

This is frustrating and I will never again purchase anything from Menard's that I can get elsewhere.  This is poor service.